


The New Normal

by TheArtsyBlatherskite



Series: Post Canon [1]
Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Confrontations, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Dialogue Heavy, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Good Parent Eda Clawthorne, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, Luz Noceda Needs a Hug, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Canon, Post-Episode: s01e19 Young Blood Old Souls, Run-On Sentences, Sisters, Threats of Violence, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:49:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27674282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheArtsyBlatherskite/pseuds/TheArtsyBlatherskite
Summary: The Owl Fam along with Lilith have escaped the Emperor, but a lot has changed in their lives. How will they and their friends adjust to this new normal?Lilith gets dragged through the mud a bit not gonna lie.
Relationships: Amity Blight & Luz Noceda, Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Eda Clawthorne & Lilith Clawthorne, Eda Clawthorne & Luz Noceda, Lilith Clawthorne & Luz Noceda
Series: Post Canon [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2023643
Comments: 12
Kudos: 60





	1. On Thin Ice

The shadowed clearing was eerily silent. Too quiet for a forest at night and _far_ too quiet for a forest on the _Boiling Isles_ at night, almost as if even the ghouls and beasts that haunt the woods could feel the suffocating tension in the air.

Edalyn Clawthorn watched her breath curl out of her mouth as wispy swirls of smoke in the chill night air. Her mind was miles away as she worked to process the whirlwind of events that had occurred in the last two days, and try to console several conflicting impulses. In less than a 48 hours she had fought tooth and nail to save Luz from her sister, been transformed almost permanently into a mindless beast, gotten captured, learned that it was her own sister that had cursed her when they were only _children,_ and been rescued from petrification by her apprentice.

And now… now she had a choice to make.

She wasn’t sure how long she had heen standing there with her eyes trained on the inky blackness between the trees, but she could feel her sister’s eyes on her back, no doubt wondering why she had been dragged so far from the safety of the Owl House.

“Sister…” Lilith began tentatively, finally breaking the palpable silence, “I know it can’t make up for what I’ve done, but-”

“What _have_ you done?” Eda cut in without bothering to turn towards her sister.

“I…”

“What is it you think I’m really upset about, Lily? What are you trying to make up for?” Eda said, finally turning to face Lilith, her expression unreadable.

“Edalyn, I…”

“Answer the question, Lilith.” It didn’t sound like a request. Eda’s voice had become harsh and impatient, but it softened slightly when she added “ _please_.”

“I… I cursed you when we were mere children… I hunted you like a common criminal for decades… I captured you for the Emperor. You were nearly petrified.” There was genuine guilt in Lilirh’s voice, and she was barely able to meet her sister’s eyes.

Eda’s unreadable experience shifted to one of disappointment when her sister finished speaking, it was the type of look of sad resignation a parent gave a child after they failed once again to learn an important moral lesson.

“Yeah…” Eda sighed, “you cursed me. All for a spot in the Emperor’s coven.”

“Edalyn, if I had known-”

“I don’t care.” Eda interrupted, her voice didn’t sound angry or hurt, if anything it sounded resigned.

“Edalyn?”

“I don’t care that you cursed me.” Eda said.

“ _What?!”_

“Lily, I made my peace with the curse decades ago,” Eda sighed, “it was a pain in the ass but it was part of my life. I did think knowing who cursed me would bring me some… I don’t know, ‘closure?’ but it didn’t, and as hard as I’ve tried I can’t spend the rest of my life hating you for it.”

Eda absentmindedly ran her fingers over the black witches gem on her chest, as devoid of color as she was devoid of magic. “I can’t say this new hurdle is gonna be easy to get used to… but it’d be a lot worse if you hadn’t helped.”

Lilith was thrown by her sister’s words. Eda had never been one to let things go, yet here she was letting Lilith off the hook for destroying her life when she was only 14. “That’s… very understanding of-”

“I didn’t finish.” Eda said, her voice had once again taken on a steely and vaguely hostile tone. “I don’t care that you cursed me. Hell, even capturing me was you trying to clean up your mess, can’t be too pissed about that.”

Eda went silent for a minute as she tried to reign in her racing thoughts. Lilith was about to say something to break the tension, but before she could open her mouth to speak, Eda whirled back around to face her sister, flames of repressed rage dancing behind her eyes. “But what you did to _Luz_?! Capturing her, imprisoning her, using her as _bait,_ **THROWING HER INTO A PIT OF SPIKES** _!!!”_ she growled before taking a deep breath to try to cool her mounting fury and keep herself from lunging at her elder sister.

“The human-”

“Has a _name_ , Lilith. Her name is Luz, and she is the best thing that ever happened to me and a _thousand_ times the witch you could ever _hope_ to be.” Eda was pacing now, trying desperately to keep a clear head, “she’s the most wonderful person I’ve ever met and you could have _killed_ her! You used her as a meat shield and tried to _impale_ on a spike.”

Lilith didn’t speak. She stared down at the ground in front of her feet like an admonished child, face filled with guilt and shame. In truth, she could hardly begin to understand why her sister had grown so attached to the hu- er, Luz, but the palpable fury in Eda’s voice was more than enough to fill her with remorse.

“And you stand here” Eda said, her voice shaking slightly with what almost sounded like a mirthless laugh, “apologizing for all the times you fucked up so you can 'make amends,’ and you don’t even _consider_ what you put her through!”

Eda fell silent again, Lilith didn’t dare speak, for several minutes the only sound in the forest was the rustling of the trees as a frigid wind blew through them. Eventually, however, Eda finally broke the silence.

“Lilith it’s gonna take a whole lot more than a botched rescue attempt and sharing the curse to make me even begin to _consider_ forgiving you for what you did to my kid.

Those last two words hung in the air as Eda glared at her elder sister. 'My kid’. Lilith took a few unconscious steps away from her sister as the words sank in and realization dawned on her. Until now, she’d believed Eda saw Luz as some sort of pet, another novelty for her collection of junk and "relics”. Their parents had taught them that humans were weak creatures, simple and powerless. Even calling the girl a student or protege seemed absurd, but she saw now that Luz meant _so much more_ to her sister, and that realization terrified her.

The unchecked fury Edalyn had shown when she arrived at the Emperor’s Palace, her almost feral brutality when they dueled that day, it made so much sense now. Lilith understood better than most how protective her sister was of the people she cared about, and how utterly ruthless and vengeful she could be when those people were threatened.

What did that mean for her?

Lilith took a shakey breath and met her sisters gaze. Perilous flames still danced behind Eda’s eyes, but her face was completely expressionless as she stared at her elder sister.

When it became clear Eda wasn’t going to say anything more, Lilith took it as her queue to speak. “I understand,” her voice was barely holding back a mix of remorse and fear as she forced the words out, “I will try to seek… other accommodations.”

Lilith spun on her heal and began walking in what she hoped was the direction of Bonesborough, but was stopped when she heard her sister call out “where do you think you’re going?”

Lilith froze. This was what she was afraid of. Her sister may be without her magic but as far as she can tell, so is she. Eda had always been more physical, easily dominating people twice her size in schoolyard scraps, and she was beyond wiley. Without a 'meat shield’ to protect her, Lilith didn’t stand a chance against her sister, even if she tried to defend herself.

Lilith braced for the inevitable attack, telling herself that she had brought this on herself. But to her surprise, nothing happened.

“First of all you’re going the wrong way, idiot. Bonesborough’s in the other direction. All you’re headed for is trees for miles.” Eda said, “second, if either of us show our mugs in town right now we’ll be arrested on the spot. The emperor’s goons are on high alert, it’s best we stay away until they calm back to their usual incompetent selves.”

Lilith bit back a retort to her sister calling the people she had until recently held command over incompetent. Mostly because this was no time to argue, especially considering she still believed her sister might attack her, but also because… yeah it’s pretty accurate. Coven guards are useless. “What would you have me do instead?” she asked, still not turning around.

Eda dragged a hand down her face and groaned. She could not _believe_ she was doing this, “damn kid making me feel empathy. This is bullshit” she mumbled under her breath, before finally saying “I thought you were staying with us” like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“But you just said-”

“I said I can’t forgive you, and I sure as hell don’t trust you. But even after everything you did… you’re still my sister. I can’t just let Belos turn you into the worlds ugliest statue. So for now… you can stay here.”

Lilith breathed a sigh of relief, and was about to turn and face her younger sister when the Owl Lady suddenly bridged the gap between them in a flash and grabbed Lilith’s shoulder, long nails digging painfully into her as she roughly turned her around.

“But let me make one thing clear,” Eda growled, grabbing Lilith’s other shoulder and gripping it just as tight, “you will _never_ be alone with Luz. You will not be alone in a room with her, you will not be alone _outside_ with her, you won’t go anywhere _near_ her bedroom, and if I leave the house and King and Luz are home alone, you’re coming with me where I can keep an eye on you. If you ever mistreat her, if you make her feel too uncomfortable, if you even _look_ at her in a way I don’t like, I’ll drop your ass off at the conformatorium myself.”

Eda dug her nails further into her sister’s shoulder, actually tearing through her dress and making crescent shaped marks in her flesh, “and if you _ever_ hurt her again” she growled, leaning in until their faces were mere inches apart and bearing her crooked fangs, “I’ll make you _beg_ to be petrified.”

With that Eda released her sisters now lightly bleeding shoulders and jabbed a thumb over her shoulder, “house is thataway by the way” She said before strolling in the direction she had pointed as if nothing had happened.

Lilith didn’t say a word as they walked, tripping over a few stones and roots as she stared down at her feet the entire time. It wasn’t until they breached the treeline into the clearing where the Owl House sat that she looked up. Studying the relatively small structure and remembering how ridiculously cluttered it had been the one time she had been inside, Lilith tentatively asked “do you even have any extra rooms?”

“Oh, tons and tons,” Eda replied casually, “but you’re sleeping in the shack.”


	2. Midnight Thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lilith wallows in guilt and self pity instead of sleeping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoooort chapter.
> 
> This is a bit jumbly and awkward but this time that was on purpose instead of just because I'm a hack. This is all Lilith's thoughts and semi-failed self reflection at like 2 am after the last chapter, they wouldn't be completely coherent and structured.

Lilith shifted uncomfortably under her makeshift blanket-a ratty old tarp riddled with holes that did absolutely nothing to shield her from the frigid night air that filled the rickety shed she was sleeping in. The hay beneath her scratched at any exposed skin and irritated her endlessly. When Lilith had asked her sister why she kept a stack of hay bales if she didn't have any livestock Edalyn had given the incredibly unhelpful and mildly concerning answer of "wouldn't you like to know, coven girl."

Edalyn had promised that they would find some proper bedding for her in the morning but it was too late to worry about it tonight. Lilith was certain that her sister was stalling just to make her suffer, but she didn't really have any room to complain.

A painful sting in her shoulders made her wince, the small cuts Edalyn had left there clotted over quickly enough but the skin around them was sensitive and the memory of pain was still there.

It was late, long past midnight and fast approaching the witching hour, and lilith had gotten absolutely no sleep. It wasn't the discomfort or pain that was keeping her from sleep, it wasn't even the faint sounds of unknown creatures moving inside the shed, Lilith was being kept awake by the all-to-familiar feelings of guilt and regret. Her mind swam with memories of everything that had led to this moment, both in the past few days and long before. She had been haunted for years by the image of her sister's innocent sleeping face lit up by the light of her curse, and the fear and confusing in her eyes when she experienced her first transformation. But now those memories were joined by new images, much fresher but no less heartbreaking. The rage in her sisters eyes on the bridge in front of the Emperor's castle, soon replaced by shock and betrayal when she learned _who_ had cursed her, and her desparate pleading as the Emperor's guards dragged her away to be petrified. To be _petrified_. Edalyn was almost killed at it would have been _her fault_.

And then, there was Luz. Try as she might, Lilith still struggled to see what was so special about her. She was certainly impressed with the little human's tenacity in breaking into the conformatorium and, while Lilith had been holding back a bit, the girl's prowess in their fight had been a surprise. But beyond that, whatever Edalyn saw in the human was a mystery to her. She wasn't family, in fact until a month ago they were total strangers, yet Edalyn protected the young girl like a mother Slitherbeast defended her young.

Lilith never intended to kill Luz, but she _needed_ to catch Edalyn. She told herself again and again that she would have had time to swoop in and save the girl before she was impaled, and she almost convinced herself, if it weren't for the fact that she didn't even _try_. She cringed when she remembered the sight of the human shrinking into the distance as she plummeted to what could very well have been an agonizing death.

Edalyn's words echoed in her mind. 'It's gonna take a whole lot more than a botched rescue attempt and sharing the curse to make me even begin to _consider_ forgiving you for what you did to my kid'. Lilith had honestly hoped that bearing her sister's burdon would be enough to redeem herself, but she knew it couldn't. She had caused far too much pain, decades of suffering, a promising life wasted, spent as an outlaw, all because of _her_ ambition.

Lilith hated was sickened by everything she had done, and felt nothing but shame when she realized that some small part of her regretted her change of heart. If she had just kept her mouth shut, turned her back on her sister and let the emperor do as he saw fit, she would be back in her apartment sleeping in her nice warm bed instead of freezing under a tarp in a tiny shack. Of course she never would have done it. Lilith was a terrible excuse for a sister but only an idiot would think she'd stand by and watch her own blood be petrified, but the thought that any part of her could consider it made bile rise in her throat as she felt more disgusted with herself than she had in her entire life.

She really was a monster wasn't she?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't even mean to include this chapter originally, but I thought seeing a bit into Lilith's mind might help.
> 
> Next chapter will be some (platonic) Lumity hurt-comfort and the first time we see that maybe Luz isn't quite as ok as she seemed at the end of the last two episodes and is having trouble dealing with all the loss and trauma.
> 
> Don't know when that will come out tho. Might focus on The Raven House for a few chapters first.


End file.
